How to Litter Train Your Cat
By: Wei Kang Z.
Welcome to a guide on how to potty train your cat. Training your cat to be potty trained is relatively easy, so here is how you can teach your cat to use a litter box. Before we begin you should understand that every cat is different, so some of these tips may not work. Test out some of these tips and if they don’t work continue to find different ways that will work.
What You Need
First, before you start, you are going to need the necessary resources to be able to start potty training your pet. You will need the basics like a litter box, a scooper, and the litter for your cat. There are a couple of a few types of litter, so you might want to test some different ones out to see which one is the most suitable for your pet. You may also want to have a few toys and treats at hand; these will help you encourage your cat’s good behaviour.
When to Begin
It’s best to teach your cat to use the litter box at a young age; however, you can easily overstimulate younger kittens. We recommend that you begin litter training at around three weeks. Keep in mind that every cat is different and will develop at a different pace; keep it simple until you are confident that your kitten can regularly start training with the litter box.
Begin Teaching
Once you are all set up and ready to go, you need to start thinking about how you will get your cat to use the litter box consistently. There are a few ways to make them instinctively use the litter box.
One way you can do it is to take your cat to the litter box after every meal or nap to allow him to get the idea that he is supposed to use the litter box to poop. Typically it will take your cat about 3-6 weeks before it starts to get used to the litter box, so you will have to be patient with your cat.
If your cat is a bit rebellious, you can also use treats to show your cat what is right and wrong. The treat way of training your cat is rewarding the behaviour that you prefer your pet expressing. It’s a quick way of correcting any bad behaviour that your cat may be expressing to you. I’m not saying that treats are a guaranteed fix to your problem, but it’s an excellent way of easing your pet into something.
What Not to Do
You should also not yell at your cat whenever it doesn’t use the litter box because you’re not accomplishing anything by yelling something your cat won’t understand. Instead, you should continue to train your cat because eventually, it should figure out where it can use the washroom.
Have a dirty litter box. Cats like clean places, so make sure to keep it as clean as possible. It would be best if you cleaned up the litter box every two weeks at the minimum to make sure that your cat doesn’t start using anywhere else in the house as a litter box.
Conclusion
These steps are just some of the basics you need to know about how to litter train your cat, with the addition of some do’s and don’ts. In the end, it all comes down to patience and commitment. It will take time, but if you take it at the pace your cat is comfortable with, then you both will be happier.
Links:
https://spca.bc.ca/faqs/litter-train-cat-kitten/
https://www.citikitty.com/pages/faqs
https://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/training/how-to-litter-box-train-a-kitten
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